Farm life lessons
Bengaluru: To understand — and appreciate — that ‘India lives in its villages’ as the Mahatma declared, Karnataka govt is sending 2.1 lakh students from 931 urban schools and pre-university institutions to villages this academic year to experience rural life, agriculture and the realities of farming.
Students will travel in state transport vehicles. Farms and learning centres will have to be inspected and certified as safe by officials from the agriculture and school education departments before students are taken there. To keep travel manageable, learning centres have been advised to be located within 50km from schools. Parental consent is mandatory. School heads and accompanying teachers will be responsible for student safety throughout the visit.
Under ‘Gramanubhava’ (Rural Experience), students will spend one night and two days in rural areas between Sept and Dec 2026, swapping classroom lessons for fields, farms and interactions with farming families. Approved through a govt order on Sept 7 as part of the state cabinet’s ‘First 100 Days’ agenda, the Rs 13-crore programme aims to narrow the urban-rural divide by making the countryside a classroom. Villages less than 50km from school Between Jan and Feb 2027, students will turn observations into projects, preparing models, developing school nutrition gardens and organising presentations and exhibitions based on their experiences.
The destination of the next school trip may not be a museum, science centre or amusement park. Rather, it’ll be villages, the soul of India. Or, Bharat.